BEIJING, July 21: China is aiming to keep growth in lending to within 15 per cent this year to help keep the economy from overheating, local media on Saturday cited the head of the banking regulator as saying.

The 21st Century Business Herald said Liu Mingkang, head of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, made the comments at a meeting of the agency on Friday, the same day that the central bank raised interest rates for the third time this year.

Outstanding yuan-denominated loans grew to 25.1 trillion yuan ($3.3 trillion) in June, an increase of 16.5 per cent from a year earlier.

“Currently, uncertainties in the economic and financial sectors are increasing, the trend of the economy going from relatively fast to overheating is becoming more clear, and the environment for risk management is becoming more complicated,” the paper paraphrased Liu as saying.

China's economy grew by 11.9 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter, the fastest pace in 11-1/2 years.

The banking watchdog has been cracking down on bank loans going illegally into the country's red-hot stock market and property sector, punishing some banks for having inadequate risk controls in place.

—Reuters